By Christopher Chang, MD
Medicine is evolving at a pace few of us could have imagined even a decade ago. While physicians continue to focus on delivering compassionate, evidence-based care, we are also navigating an increasingly complex professional environment shaped by contracts, compliance requirements, financial realities, technological disruption, workforce shortages, and regulatory change. Clinical excellence alone is no longer enough. Physicians must also understand the business of medicine.
At the Broward County Medical Association (BCMA), we believe practical education must reflect the real-world problems physicians face now. That belief is what continues to drive our Business of Medicine initiative, a program that has grown into one of BCMA’s signature educational offerings.
The Business of Medicine has evolved into a defined continuing medical education experience, building on strong physician interest in business, legal, financial, and practice-management topics. In 2025, BCMA hosted two editions of The Business of Medicine as a CME-accredited program at Nova Southeastern University and Keiser University, bringing together physicians, trainees, and healthcare leaders for practical discussions about the realities of medical practice.
The programs addressed four critical areas physicians consistently tell us they need help understanding: career pathways after residency, including employed, private practice, and concierge care models; financial planning across career stages; legal and compliance issues that protect both physicians and their medical licenses; and the emerging role of artificial intelligence in healthcare. Conversations ranged from contract negotiation and startup costs to liability concerns and the practical barriers to AI adoption.
Perhaps most importantly, attendees told us what they wanted next. Physicians asked for broader relevance to hospital-based and employed practice models, more practical demonstrations of artificial intelligence tools, stronger office-based applications, and clearer attention to the needs of students, residents, and fellows entering a rapidly changing profession.
The 2026 edition of Business of Medicine responds directly to that feedback. This year’s curriculum will place even greater emphasis on actionable learning physicians can immediately apply. Planned sessions include financial panels tailored to career stages, contracts and ethics, professionalism and survival guidance for trainees, social media and physician advocacy, and a practical artificial intelligence tools panel connected to BCMA’s October 2026 AI conference.
At BCMA, our position is clear: we are Broward’s physician association translating business, legal, operational, and technology changes into practical steps physicians can use immediately. From contracts and coding to compliance and licensure, physicians deserve tools that help them avoid preventable errors and strengthen professional resilience.
Artificial intelligence, for example, should save time, reduce friction, and support physician judgment, not create new administrative burdens or unnecessary risk. Physicians need practical guidance, not hype, to understand how these technologies can responsibly improve care and workflow.
Education and advocacy are inseparable. From July 31 to August 2, this year, a delegation of BCMA physicians will participate in the annual meeting of the Florida Medical Association, joining colleagues from the Miami-Dade County Medical Association and the Palm Beach County Medical Society through the South Florida Caucus to advance physician priorities. These discussions, focused on licensure, reimbursement, scope of practice, liability, and the future of medicine, reinforce why education in the business of medicine matters. Advocacy is strongest when physicians understand the systems shaping their profession.
BCMA remains committed to connecting established physicians with residents, fellows, students, and emerging leaders so that every stage of the physician journey is supported. The business of medicine is not separate from medicine itself. Understanding it is essential to protecting the future of our profession and improving the care we deliver to patients.
Dr. Christopher Chang is President, Broward County Medical Association.
